Method and system for the mass sending of messages

ABSTRACT

A method and system for sending messages in a telecommunications network, in which digital messages which contain information on the desired reply address are mass sent, and messages, which are sent on the basis of the reply-address information are received. The reply-address information of each mass-sent message is converted to correspond to a predefined dialog, in which the stage of the dialog defines unequivocally the reply-address information, so that the transmission and reception of the messages are implemented in different parts of the telecommunications system.

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/689,990, filed Apr. 17, 2015, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/109,291, filed Dec. 17, 2013, nowU.S. Pat. No. 9,049,573, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/039,338, filed Mar. 3, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No.8,634,522, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/885,748, filed Jun. 11, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,912,190, which is anational phase of International Patent Application No.PCT/FI2006/050517, filed Nov. 27, 2006, which claims priority to FinnishPatent Application No. 20051245, filed Dec. 2, 2005, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present invention relates to a method, according to the preamble ofclaim 1, for the mass sending of messages.

The invention also relates to a system, according to claim 7.

Methods and systems of this kind are used, for example, for implementingtext-message-based booking services.

According to the prior art, e-mail-message mass sending is implementedfrom a number inside the operators' networks, using Content Gatewaytechnology. The transmission address of the Content Gateway mass-sendingtechnology is not a telephone number familiar from the network side,which takes the form +358 400 123 456, but is instead a short servicenumber, which is not a proper telephone number but, for example, 16400.Because it is not an actual network number, it cannot roam from onenetwork to another, but instead goes directly to the content gateway ofthe operator in question. In this document, the term roaming refers tothe updating of number information, either when the terminal devicemoves from one country to another, or to the functionality of theservice number when using a service from a different country to that inwhich the service provider is situated. Operators have constructed manydifferent and complex solutions, which have been used to make servicesoperate also in other operators' networks and number spaces. Inpractice, this leads to complicated mutual agreements concerning thecommon use of specific numbers, for example, in such a way that messagescoming to a specific number of another operator are routed back to theoperator owning the number.

For years, attempts have been made to harmonize numbers within Europe,but competing operators have never reached an agreement on commonservice numbers. An additional difficulty in the concrete implementationof the existing technology is that the solution should connect thecommunications apparatus inside one operator's network with thecorresponding communications apparatuses of the operators of othernetworks (point to point). This fosters a large number of agreements andconnections from one place to another. Thus, in practice these solutionsonly function between a few operators.

According to the prior art, mass-sending systems for messages are thusimplemented telephone-operator-specifically, in such a way that theoperator's own number, which as described above is not even a realroaming number, appears in the ‘sender’ field of messages. Thus, theservices have not functioned outside the own country. Such a system hasnot been suitable for demanding query dialogues, because using the‘reply function’ messages have always returned to the same number andonly if the subscriber has been in his home network.

Attempts have also been made to solve the problem by using tailor-mademodem banks, but these solutions have been slow, expensive, and evenunreliable.

The invention is intended to eliminate the problems of the prior artdisclosed above and for this purpose create an entirely new type ofmethod and system for the mass sending of messages and preferably toprovide a service for international use.

The invention is based on changing the desired reply address of eachmass-sent message, typically the sender information, to correspond to apredefined dialogue, in which a stage of the dialogue definesunequivocally the sender information, so that the sending and receptionof messages are implemented in different parts of the telecommunicationsnetwork.

More specifically, the method according to the invention ischaracterized by what is stated in the characterizing portion of claim1.

The system according to the invention is, in turn, characterized by whatis stated in the characterizing portion of claim 7.

Considerable advantages are gained with the aid of the invention.

The solution is operator-independent and will operate in the networks ofall operators. The most typical applications of the invention willoperate in any GSM customer telephone whatever, in any network whatever.The invention offers a cost advantage on the sending side, due to masssending, and nevertheless the reception operates completelycountry-independently, i.e. in a fully roaming form in the network ofeach operator.

In the following, the invention is examined with the aid of examples andwith reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows schematically a solution according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of one solution according to the figure.

FIG. 3 shows schematically information fields in a message according tothe invention.

According to FIG. 1, in the prior art, telephone operators A and B havetext-message mass-sending means 3 in their own networks, which alloweach operator to send large numbers of text messages efficiently. In thesolution shown, each operator has a service number 20, which relates toa common message service arranged by agreement and by connectiontechnology, and which is not available to other operators who are notparty to the agreement. According to the prior art, the service number20 is a non-roaming short number.

According to FIG. 2, in the system there are typically two parties who,in exceptional cases, can be the same company.

The service is provided by a service company or association 1, whichprovides subscribers 8, for example, with booking services forpurchasing tickets, changing tyres, etc. The service company orassociation 1 operates within the radio network of some operator, in ahome network 13.

In the present application, the term service company or association 1refers to a company or association, which operates in either its own oran external telecommunications network, producing services forcustomers, either directly or indirectly. Typically such a company orassociation is a sub-contractor of an actual telephone operator, and theuser of the service need not necessarily even be aware of the existenceof the service company or association 1. In a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, the service company or association produces manydifferent kinds of booking and time reservation services, eitherdirectly or indirectly, for telephone subscribers.

The system also includes a telephone operator 2, in whose network 14there are means and apparatuses for mass sending digital messages (suchas SMS messages), containing sender information. Such a practicalnetwork element is, for example, SNS mass-sending logic 3, which can beimplemented, for example, using Content Gateway technology.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the first stage of the service theservice company or association 1 uses combination logic 9 and numberconversion 4 to form a large number of messages 40, each of whichcontains recipient information 30, the actual message content 31, andinformation 32 on either the sender or, in practice of the address, towhich a reply to the message 40 is desired. In an SMS (short-messagesystem) application, the recipient information 30 is a mobile-stationtelephone number and the sender information 32 is the sender dataconverted by a number converter 4, in the sender field 32 of the SMSmessage.

Within the scope of the invention, the message 40 can be any messagewhatever that can be sent over a digital communications network, andwhich comprises recipient information, the actual message, andinformation on the desired reply address, for example, in the form ofsender information. Besides SMS messages, such messages 40 can be, forinstance e-mail messages, or for example multimedia messages (MMS).

A large number of the aforesaid messages are formed dynamically on thebasis of complex dialogues. Correspondingly, for example in emergencyapplications, the message totality can be static, ready for an emergencysituation.

In the conversion of the desired reply address, for example, thesender's number, the address (or number) from which the contact to theservice company or association 1 is formed, can be taken into account.This makes it possible to route the messages of US subscribers 8 totheir own national server, and correspondingly the messages of Finnishusers of the same service to their own national server. From thesenational servers, the reply messages can be transferred for furthermeasures by the service company or association 1, using suitabletelecommunications connections.

The messages formed by the service company or association 1 are sent tothe mass-sending logic 3, which is located in the network 14 of theoperator 2, from where the mass sending 5 of messages is implemented.From here, the messages (40) are distributed according to the recipientinformation 30 and arrive at the terminal device 7 of the subscriber 8through the radio network 6 in which the subscriber 8 is at that moment.The subscriber 8 responds to the message using the ‘reply’ function, inwhich case the reply message goes to the address that is determined bythe value of the sender or reply-address field 32 of the incomingmessage. The message 40 goes to the service company or association 1over radio networks 12, 11, and 13. Naturally, if the subscriber 8 is inthe area of the home network 13 of the service company or association,the message will not travel over the networks 11 and 12. From the homenetwork 13, the message is transferred to the message reception 10 ofthe service company or association 1, where it is combined with asuitable dialogue with the aid of the combination logic 9 and numberconversion.

More concretely, for example in an SMS application, when a message issent to the subscriber 8, the sending number (A number) is convertedbefore mass sending in block 4, for example +358500001, in the firststage of a predefined session (dialogue). The number space of thesender's number (A number) is determined by the service provider's 1 ownnumber space, which in the invention is entirely independent of thesending operator's 2 number space. In the next stage of the samesession, the A number is controlled by the logic 9 of the servicecompany or association 1, for example +358500002 and so on. The A numberto be sent is determined tightly from a logically proceeding dialogueformed by the service provider 1, in which the reply to each messagesent is expected at a specific telephone number (digital reply address),which is included as the A number in the outgoing message.

Thus, the subscriber responds to the SMS message using the replyfunction, in which case in the first stage of the dialogue the replygoes to the number +35800001 and correspondingly in the second stage ofthe dialogue to the number +3580002.

Example Dialogue:

Message Sending number 1. Do you need to change tyres, reply y/n+35850001 2. Would 07.12.2005 be a suitable date, reply y/n +35850002

The subscriber's 8 reply ‘y’ sends the service provider's 1 system themessage 2. The dialogue terminates, if the reply to the first message is‘n’. In stage 2, the reply y leads to the time being booked, the reply‘n’ leading, on the other hand, to a new booking proposal.

Thus, the messages described above would be sent as mass sendings tohundreds or thousands of recipients at one time, in which case the Anumber of the first stage of the dialogue (=field 32) would be always+35850001 and correspondingly in the second stage of the dialogue always+35850002, so that the reply to each sent message is always targeted tothe correct number. In connection with the reply, the A number of thesender 8 is, on the other hand, determined by the person for whom thebooking is made.

According to the invention, a preferred embodiment is an SMS message,but according to the invention the message can be some other kind ofdigital short message, in which it is possible to reply to the messagewithout separately defining the recipient. Thus, instead oftelephone-number data, the sender or reply-address field (field 32 inFIG. 3) can contain the desired reply address in some other form too,for example, as an e-mail address, or as numeric or alphanumeric senderor reply-address information.

The number conversion allows reception of the message to take placetypically in an open radio network outside the network of the operator(2) who has sent the message and to be routed on the basis of the Anumber to the system of the service company or association 1.

Thus, in the SMS embodiment in the invention, before a mass sending, theinformation in the ‘sender’ field of the text message being sent ischanged, by having a different value to that of the real number of thesender entered in it. This value is obtained from the logic 9, 10 of theservice company or association 1, according to a predefined rule, insuch a way as to permit combination of the questions and repliesarriving at the logic.

In addition, in the system of the service company or association 1,there is logic 9 that connects the sending end and the receiving end,which is able to combine the sent message and the return messagearriving from the external operator 2, in such a way that the subscribercan reply (from outside of the network) from any subscription at all,but nevertheless sending can take place from inside the network at alarge capacity and economically. In other words, it is possible toselect the cheapest sending operator, but reception can take place fromany telecommunications network whatever.

According to the invention, at the message reception end, reception canbe dispersed, so that, for example, reception in Sweden takes place to alocal network element and in Finland correspondingly to a Finnishnetwork element, messages received from which national network elementsare transferred over suitable connections, for example IP connectionsfor further processing arranged by the service company or association.Thus the service's international roaming will be faster and cheaper, aswell as more reliable. In addition, it will be more pleasant for theconsumer to use the service, because sending takes place to the numberof a local operator, and not to the network of an external operator,which is assumed to be more expensive. In some subscriptions, foreigntext messages are even blocked, i.e., they will not work without theservice according to the invention.

One embodiment of the invention is described in the following:

There are thousands of experts, who are needed in various catastropheand emergency situations, or in other surprising situations, when asudden need arises to have a large group of competent people to actsimultaneously. Often the situation is one in which personnel is neededin several locations simultaneously, in which case messages concerningseveral subjects will be sent from an emergency control centre. Thenecessary personnel will then receive a message in their telephone,using the system according to the invention, and each participant willreply to whichever message they regard as most suitable for themselves.Thus, the control centre can decide, on the basis of the replies, who tosend and to what area.

For example, after an earthquake the emergency control centre uses themessage mass-sending logic to send, to a thousand people specialized inemergency aid, messages that help and expertise are required in Area 1,Area 2, and Area 3. When a person specialized in emergency aid receivesthese three messages through his own operator, he is able to reply tothe message that is the best alternative for him. The reply from theexpert is sent over the radio network to the number defined by themessage as an individual message via the service company or association1 to the emergency control centre. When the message is received, theservice provider's (1) server is able to combine the information onwhich experts are going to each of the Areas 1-3. Thus the emergencycontrol centre can immediately act and rapidly forward the necessarypersonnel and equipment to the location in question.

One application according to the invention is also the creation of alink to a person who travels globally in the service of an internationalmajor corporation. Large corporations typically have their own messagecommunications centres, responding to the messages sent by which isdifficult using existing technology, because if, for example, anAmerican receives a group message from his company when he is in India,the ‘reply’ function cannot be used to reply to the message, becauseusing existing technology there is a non-international number in thesender field. According to the invention, both international roaming andalso the further processing of the reply to the message are solved.

If, according to what is stated above, a person who is a subscriberwishes to reply only to telephone numbers with the code of his owncountry, the service provider can send from his own country groupmessages as a mass sending, in which the number of the sender isconverted to an internal number of the recipient's country and therecipients can reply in their own area, without international numbers.In that case, the service provider will require servers in the countryin question. Reply messages from the country-specific server aretransmitted, for instance, over an IP connection to a server in theservice provider's country, in which there is combination logic.

In the invention, a number external to the network is thus convertedinto the sender's identifier (=the desired reply address), so that itmust return through the radio interface of the network. Thus, in thereply situation the message is not routed directly to a service numberinside the network, but instead through a radio interface outside thenetwork, so that it roams automatically. For this operation, in onepreferred embodiment of the invention there is, thus, not the shortnumber 16400, but instead the fully roaming international number +3585016400.

According to the invention, for example, a thousand messages are sent atone time using a mass-messaging application 3, in such a way that eachindividual message is given converted sender information for the replymessage, so that the return messages arrive at different times (aspeople gradually reply) through several radio modems, so that themomentary capacity required for each radio modem will be small. However,with the aid of the invention, the functioning of services outside theservice provider's home country, i.e. roaming operation, is achieved.

In this application, the term sender information refers to both atelephone number (A number) and to any information whatever, transportedwith a message, concerning the desired return address.

The method and system according to the invention are implemented, withthe aid of at least one computer, in a telecommunications network.

The preferred application environment of the solution according to theinvention is disclosed in publication WO 2004/019223, Booking System,messages sent by the system applied to which can be implemented usingthe mass-sending method according to the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for managing communications in atelecommunications system, the system comprising: a server coupled tothe telecommunication system to transmit a large number of firstmessages with corresponding content to a first plurality of recipients,wherein the first messages contain information and each include aspecified first reply address altered from a sender address, wherein thespecified first reply addresses are addresses to which first replies tothe first messages are sent by the plurality of recipients, wherein thesystem receives the first replies to the messages from at least some ofthe first plurality of recipients at the specified reply addressesincluded in the messages, wherein the server or another server includedin the system transmits a large number of second messages to theplurality of recipients from whom first replies to the first messageswere received, herein second plurality of recipients, all secondmessages having corresponding content but different content as in thefirst messages, wherein at least one of the first messages intended fora particular one of the first plurality of recipients is routeddifferently in the telecommunications system from the reply from theparticular one of the first plurality of recipients, and wherein, theserver or another server also included in system, analyzes the replyaddresses for the received replies to determine which transmittedmessages the replies correspond to, wherein a combination of the senderaddress and the reply address is used in the analysis to determine whichtransmitted messages the replies correspond to.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the transmitted messages are digital messages.
 3. The systemof claim 1, wherein the telecommunications system includes a pluralityof telecommunications networks.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the messages is a Short Message System message.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein at least one of the messages is a MultimediaMessage.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one message includedin the transmitted messages is an electronic-mail message.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the server converts the reply-address into anational address in a recipient's own country.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the national address is a national telephone number.
 9. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the reply addresses are included in a senderfield of the messages wherein each specified reply address for eachtransmitted message corresponds to a predefined dialogue.
 10. The systemof claim 1, wherein the server sends multiple messages to a recipientincluded in the plurality of message recipients, wherein the multiplemessages and any corresponding received replies are included within amessage session with the communication recipient.
 11. The system ofclaim 1, wherein one of the servers in the system differentiates repliesto messages within the message session with the message recipient basedon addresses at which the replies are received.
 12. The system of claim1, wherein the second messages contain information and each include aspecified second reply address altered from a sender address and beingdifferent from the first reply address, wherein the specified secondreply addresses are addresses to which second replies to the secondmessages are sent by the second plurality of recipients, and at leastone of the second messages intended for a particular one of the secondplurality of recipients is routed differently in the telecommunicationssystem from the reply from the particular one of the second plurality ofrecipients.
 13. A method for managing communications in atelecommunications system from a server coupled to the telecommunicationsystem, the method comprising: transmitting a large number of firstmessages with corresponding content to a first plurality of recipients,wherein the first messages contain information and each include aspecified first reply address altered from a sender address, wherein thespecified first reply addresses are addresses to which first replies tothe first messages are sent by the plurality of recipients; receivingthe first replies to the messages from at least some of the firstplurality of recipients at the specified reply addresses included in themessages; transmitting a large number of second messages to theplurality of recipients from whom first replies to the first messageswere received, herein second plurality of recipients, all secondmessages having corresponding content but different content as in thefirst messages, wherein the second messages contain information and eachinclude a specified second reply address altered from a sender addressand being different from the first reply address, wherein the specifiedsecond reply addresses are addresses to which second replies to thesecond messages are sent by the second plurality of recipients; whereinat least one of the first messages intended for a particular one of thefirst plurality of recipients is routed differently in thetelecommunications system from the reply from the particular one of thefirst plurality of recipients, and analyzing, by the server or anotherserver also included in the telecommunications system, the replyaddresses for the received replies to determine which transmittedmessages the replies correspond to, wherein a combination of the senderaddress and the reply address is used in the analysis to determine whichtransmitted messages the replies correspond to.
 14. The method of claim13, wherein the transmitted messages are digital messages.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the telecommunications system includes aplurality of telecommunications networks.
 16. The method of claim 13,wherein at least one of the messages is a Short Message System message.17. The method of claim 13, wherein at least one of the messages is aMultimedia System message.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein at leastone message included in the transmitted communications is anelectronic-mail message.
 19. The method of claim 13, further comprisingconverting the reply-address into a national address in a communicationrecipient's own country.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein thenational address is a national telephone number.
 21. The method of claim13, wherein the reply addresses are included in a sender field of thecommunications wherein each specified reply address for each transmittedmessage corresponds to a predefined dialogue.
 22. The method of claim13, further comprising sending multiple messages to a recipient includedin the plurality of recipients, wherein the multiple messages and anycorresponding received replies are included within a message sessionwith the recipient.
 23. The method of claim 13, further comprisingdifferentiating replies to messages within the message session with therecipient based on addresses at which the replies are received.
 24. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the second messages contain information andeach include a specified second reply address altered from a senderaddress and being different from the first reply address, wherein thespecified second reply addresses are addresses to which second repliesto the second messages are sent by the second plurality of recipients,and at least one of the second messages intended for a particular one ofthe second plurality of recipients is routed differently in thetelecommunications system from the reply from the particular one of thesecond plurality of recipients.